Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced last week that he was going to buy Washington Post. The deal was seen to be one of the most exciting convergence cases between new and old media. This was after the merger of Time Warner with AOL.
However, the question that remained unanswered was how Bezos will re-launch the respected flagship of US journalism. Another question follows of what his ownership of the Post will indicate globally.
These questions may seem strange for a column driven to controversies in economics and public policy. Nevertheless, newspapers today are a decreasing industry comparable to shipbuilding and steel sectors in 1980s. Newspaper companies even need to employ more people and pay higher wages. Therefore, publications have great significance in the economy and are important part of democracy.
On the other hand, public forum often assumes that journalism has become technologically overpowered. The Internet has turned the thriving industry for news and analysis into an unpaid hobby for those who seek to promote themselves or philanthropists.
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